Fractured
by Shaded Truths
Summary: One moment and one simple comment can bring everything crashing to earth. Right after Yusuke returns from Demon World, he and Keiko are great and so is their life with their friends, but one comment unknowingly sets off a chain of emotional turmoil that could tear Keiko and Yusuke apart and the only thing stopping them from working, is themselves.


**Oh my god... Another one shot, and my longest yet... now the goal was to make this better than my last which...i'm not too convinced I accomplished. Now this takes place post series and I already know that some people are out of character, especially Yusuke and Shizuru and I apologize, but I felt that it was acceptable given the circumstances. So before you read, I want to say that there is a scene toward the end where Keiko pushes Yusuke into a tree, when that happens, I listened to "This could be" by daena jay and I felt the song fit for this situation but feel free to ignore me. Also, I would love if you would fav and review/comment. My last fic has 26 favs and that is unprecedented for me. Ok so one more thing. Special thanks to Persephone Rosamunde for unwittingly giving me the idea for this story.**

**I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho**

* * *

Fractured

_This is the end!_

_ I'm tired of waiting for you Yusuke!_

_ I've waited half my life for you to come around!_

_ Even if you were here, you weren't really!_

_ You weren't here for me!_

_ Go ahead and keep fighting, but it's time I get what I want!_

_ I don't want you to wait either._

_ See…you don't have to._

Keiko smiled to herself at the memory. At the moment she was wiping down the kitchen in her family's restaurant. It had been a month since the day that most of the gang had gone to that beach after visiting Genkai. She may have been the most expressive, but they were all glad to have Yusuke back. Kuwabara expressed it by easily falling back into their crazy antics as if he had seen him only the day before instead of a whole three years prior. Botan, affectionate as she was, had glomped him once, and Yusuke acted annoyed as he had before, but they all knew, even if no one said it, that he was happy to see her too.

As out of character as it was for most of their little gang, that night was a large festivity celebrating the reunion. They had all gone back to Genkai's, who, as soon as she saw Yusuke, kicked him through a wall.

"Your time in the Makai has done nothing to improve your ability to dodge," she said as Yusuke scowled at her as he sat up. "Looks like you have more work to do, dimwit."

Through all this, Genkai had a thinly veiled smile on her face and when she had gone back into her compound, Yusuke snickered.

Kurama is not one to show any affection or much attachment to anything except for his mother and he is vocal about what his friendship with Hiei means to him. While he has not voiced or expressed it, Kurama always felt a connection with Yusuke after the incident on that hospital roof. Like everyone else, he felt a twinge of sadness when Yusuke decided to depart the Human world.

Earlier that day, Hiei had returned as well, and even if no one had called him on it, had also missed them, particularly his best friend, Kurama, and the human…half human that he respects the most.

The only one not there was Koenma, who had severed most contact in order to take the responsibilities that come with being the ruler of the Reikai, now that his father had been dethroned and found treacherous.

Kuwabara had been affected possibly the most by Yusuke leaving, besides Keiko. It bothered him so much that he had confronted him before he had left, exposing the dependency on him and the amity for him that had been developed over the years. Surprisingly, Kuwabara had been the quickest to adjust, despite some part of him not wanting to let go of the 'adventurous' time in his life. He was now doing well enough in school that he could actually pick universities to apply to after school had let out.

As Keiko rinsed the rag she had used, she wistfully put herself back to that night, the laughs, the tears, the sentimentality, and yes, the booze. Naturally Yusuke and Kuwabara had to make fools of themselves. Apparently being a half demon did nothing for that.

Eventually, they had to leave, but unlike a typical night, they had all left at the same time, wanting to savor their night with each other. They each broke off to head to their respective homes and Yusuke, to his mother's to finally face her after having left without a word.

As Yusuke recollected later, after a few thrown beer cans, screaming, and enough tears to make him look as if he had run through a hurricane, Atsuko had welcomed him back.

And here it was, a month later, and things seemed to sort of gel into place, classes had let out so Kurama, Kuwabara, and Keiko were on break, Yusuke had managed to snag a job at a ramen stand, much to their pleasure. Yusuke didn't suck at it, surprisingly. But Kuwabara had earned a nice black eye for that sentiment.

The gang decided that they wanted to gather at Genkai's once more. The old woman had complained when approached about it. She had spouted off something along the lines of, 'you damn idiots destroying my house'. She was fooling no one, even if they all pretended otherwise.

Keiko had only just finished cleaning up when her boyfriend walked into the place.

"Hey, Keiko, ready to go?" he asked, always to the point.

Keiko smiled at him before walking toward the stairs that led to her bedroom.

"Let me change into something more casual," Keiko said. "I've been in the kitchen all day working."

"Sure," Yusuke said without a problem as he sat on one of the barstools.

Keiko smiled at him again before she started up the stairs. Whether he was aware of it or not, he had sat in that seat three years prior and he made the joke about them getting married.

She frowned momentarily as she remembered the reason for that visit, his trip to the Makai. She had been so angry then, but had never shown it to him. No, that had waited to rear its' ugly head after he had left. Luckily for her social and academic life, she had managed to bury it so she could focus on ensuring her future when he had returned.

Her room was the epitome of order it had always been, she mechanically made her way to the closet she had thousands of times over the years.

While she changed, she looked at her nightstand beside her bed and let the wistful bliss of reminiscence come over her. She lifted the picture frame which contained the picture that they had taken just after the conclusion of the Dark Tournament. Why this picture in particular, she didn't even know. It had just spoken to her, possibly seeing as even given how awful the tournament was; it was the time in their lives when Yusuke's secret life was bared for her to see.

She had set the photo back in its' place and quickly finished changing before heading back downstairs.

"Now I'm ready, Yusuke," she announced as she walked down, simply dressed in jeans and a white blouse with a light brown jacket.

"Alright, I think the others might be there already," Yusuke snickered. "Come on, I don't want to miss Kuwabara trying to hit on Yukina."

Keiko looked at him, confused as to why he wanted to see that, but rolled her eyes and allowed him to open the door for her before leaving.

Ever since he had returned, Yusuke had appeared to grow up a little bit. Keiko internally laughed at that notion because even if Yusuke appeared more mature sometimes, he would still be that reckless idiot who liked to goof off with his pals. It just seemed as if he had learned to appreciate them more. So Keiko wasn't surprised like she would have been three years prior when Yusuke slid his arm around her shoulders and walked with her toward Genkai's. This was an example of his growth, even if she was the only one he was affectionate with, he seemed to finally understand that he couldn't just bury his feelings and brush it all off with that cocky arrogance that he would, and still, exudes. That doesn't mean that he was any better with emotional situation, and no one expected him to be as well versed as say, Kurama, who was very sensitive to another person's feelings.

That was how they appeared when they arrived at the temple, those stairs still as exhausting as ever. They had entered the temple and made their way to where they knew that everyone would be.

"It's about time you two showed up," Kuwabara complained as he held up a hand of cards.

"Hey," Yusuke replied in false irritation. "Unlike you, I have a girlfriend to pick up, and also unlike you, she has a job, and is responsible."

Keiko covered her mouth to stifle her laugh as Kuwabara shot up, abandoning his cards, to start the routine of getting in Yusuke's face. She walked over to where Kurama had been sitting, across from Kuwabara, as he began gathering all of the cards, game being abruptly ended.

"Hey, Kurama," she greeted before glancing over to the corner, where Hiei had been sitting with his arms crossed and eyes closed. "Hello, Hiei."

Hiei cracked one eye open and gave an acknowledging nod in her direction before closing his eye again.

"Don't mind him, Keiko," Kurama chuckled. "You know that Hiei doesn't care much for social gatherings."

"Yeah," Keiko agreed.

"Still your tongue, Kurama," Hiei said, curtly from his corner.

"You've been actin all grumpy all day, Shrimpy," Kuwabara observed, getting out of Yusuke's face.

"Anyone would if they had to be in the same room with you for more than a few moments at a time," Hiei bantered back, opening both eyes this time.

"What?" Kuwabara sputtered, ears turning red. "Watch it, runt, or else."

"I'm trembling," Hiei deadpanned.

Yusuke broke up the verbal battle with a snicker.

"Oh, man," he commented. "It's good to see you Hiei."

Hiei looked over at him.

"Hn," Hiei grunted before looking over to the door, where Shizuru, Yukina, and Botan had just walked through.

"Yukina!" Kuwabara exclaimed as he got all googly-eyed. "My love, are you tired from slaving away for us. Come, sit and seek the comfort of my arms."

"Does someone have some wine to go with this?" Shizuru asked the others, before bopping her brother on the head. "Leave her alone, Kazuma."

"Thank you for the seat though, Kazuma," Yukina said.

Yusuke snickered as Hiei had finally ceased glaring at Kuwabara.

"Hey, guys," Shizuru greeted as she high-fived Yusuke. "How's life?"

Before they could answer, the final member, and owner of their venue, walked in with her arms crossed behind her back.

"Oh, wow," Genkai began. "It must be some holiday somewhere; I haven't needed to have anything replaced yet."

"Give us some credit, Grandma," Yusuke retorted. "We don't always wreck everything."

"No," Genkai conceded. "Just you and Kuwabara, dimwit. Because of your insistence to have those little masculinity contests of yours."

The others laughed as Genkai went and sat on a cushion on the floor.

Everyone had arrived, and they all carried on with what it was they normally did, they played cards, Genkai kicked Yusuke's ass at some fighting game of hers, and they just talked. About life, political matters, and some flashbacking to their spirit detective days. Kuwabara boasted about his academic achievements before Yusuke one upped him by talking about Keiko's.

"You mean you actually listen when I talk about school?" Keiko asked, jokingly.

"Of course I do," Yusuke replied, slightly affronted. "Someone needs to keep Kuwabara's ego in check and you're too nice to him to do that."

"At least we finished school, Urameshi," Kuwabara gloated. "You dropped out to go to Demon World."

Keiko's smiled mostly slid off her face when Kuwabara brought it up.

"I had to go," Yusuke said. "Figure out the whole Mazoku thing and I wanted to see who had interfered with my fight with Sensui."

"Yeah, yeah," Kuwabara waved, dismissing it and understanding. "But then you had the Tournament thing to determine the king. Kurama told me all three of you got your butts kicked."

The look on Kuwabara's face was one that meant he found some amusement in the fact that his best friend actually lost a fight.

"We made it farther than you ever could," Hiei said from his corner. "You wouldn't even make it to the real tournament; you would be taken out in the qualifying round."

"Yeah, probably," Kuwabara said, much to the surprise of everyone in the room besides Kurama and Genkai. "What? I'm not the same cocky jerk I was back then."

"Well, it looks like little Kuwabara's finally grown up," Yusuke mocked, throwing an arm around his shoulder and poking the taller man in the cheek.

"Whatever, Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled as the others laughed at him.

"It's ok, baby bro," Shizuru said. "It's not your fault that you just aren't the best."

"Sis!" Kuwabara whined. "You guys are such jerks."

That started another round of laughter and amused looks from Keiko, Genkai, and Hiei.

"So, Urameshi, Hiei, Kurama, what are you guys gonna do next year when the Tournament comes around again?"

Keiko froze again, hearing Kuwabara's question. She kept her back turned from Yusuke as he pondered.

"Compete you fool," Hiei said. "I won't lose this time."

"I suppose I will compete as well," Kurama added. "Even if our days of demon fighting are technically behind us, I suppose it would be good to keep my skills sharp in case something was to happen."

"Way to be pessimistic Kurama," Yusuke deadpanned, causing the red head to chuckle.

"What about you Yusuke," Genkai of all people asked. "What will you do?"

"Well, I'd go back and compete of course," he replied, annoyed that she would even ask.

Something in Keiko changed, she barely noticed, but it seemed like a weight had settled onto her chest. It had appeared when Yusuke said that he would go back to Demon World. She gripped the area around her heart slightly and grit her teeth.

No one was aware of the change in her except the more observant of emotional turmoil. Shizuru frowned when he saw Keiko start to tremble; Kurama glanced over at her, actually surprised to see Keiko worked up. Genkai cracked one of her eyes open and glanced at Keiko, as if anticipating that something like this would happen.

_Stupid Dimwit, _she thought as she turned her glance to Yusuke, who had his chin in hand pondering the tournament that was soon to be upon them.

The boys' conversation was halted when Keiko stood up.

"Sorry guys," Keiko apologized, heading for the door. "I just remembered, I need to head to the university. I need to go to the financial aid department and make sure I'm ready to start. I was so excited about today I forgot."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Yusuke asked with a raised brow, Keiko wasn't one to forget something like this.

"No!" she replied, almost forcefully, before pulling the sliding door open.

She turned her head around, forcing a smile but keeping her eyes closed.

"Raincheck?" she asked.

"I don't see why not?" Genkai said with a sigh.

"Great, I'll see you guys later," she replied as she shut the door behind her.

Yusuke kept his eyes on where she left for a few moments after she left. Shizuru had been keeping her eye on him while the others continued to talk about the tournament. After another moment, Yusuke sighed, shrugged, and turned his attention back to the others.

_He still has a ways to go,_ Shizuru thought as her forehead creased at his action.

While he had been gone, those who remained had still been in close contact, age differences or supernatural forces aside, these people were her friends. She had noticed that Keiko had struggled at first with dealing with Yusuke's departure and she was grieving and rightly upset at first, but on one occasion they had met up, it was as if everything had changed. Keiko was cheery and was back to herself, at first they had thought that she had just come to terms with it, but as time wore on, whenever someone would mention the Makai, she would just get a far-away look in her eyes and her face would stone itself.

_She's still messed up, _Shizuru's mind mused. _She's just buried it. Right now it's not too bad, but if she doesn't face it and get her catharsis…_

Her thought trailed off as she was pulled into their conversation.

* * *

Instead of going to the university, Keiko had just headed straight home. Her parents were out for the day and had left her to take care of the business. She quickly threw off her shoes and went up to her room. Once inside, she shot straight to her bed and sat down on it.

Her window was open but that did nothing to ease the heaviness on her chest that made her feel that it was stifling in her room. She took a couple deep breaths and clutched her knees with her hands.

_What am I doing? _Keiko asked herself. _Did I really just leave them like that? I mean…it just…I needed to go. I couldn't stay there._

She looked over at the photo she had looked at earlier and picked it up. In it, Yusuke had his arm around her shoulder and had his other hand pointed forward in his signature pose for the 'Spirit Gun'. She smiled sadly at the look on her face, she had been so scared during his fight with Toguro… When he won, and knocked her out of her dissociative stupor, she couldn't have been happier in that moment, except for the fact that she had accidentally smacked the tar out of him.

Her said smile then morphed into a frown and her hand clenched over the frame.

_So you know it's my birthday tomorrow, right?_

_ Yeah, so what?_

_ So by my 18__th__ birthday I'll be back here, I will find a way, I promise you._

_ Keiko, you know I love you, right?_

She had so much focus in glaring at the cocky grin on Yusuke's face that she didn't notice the tears that streamed down her face when her mind had lodged her back to the time Yusuke came to visit her before he left.

She quickly put her face back to stone and set the frame face down, a little roughly on the stand.

Her head snapped in the opposite direction as she felt a small impact on her window. Her brow creased in confusion before she walked over to the window. The impact was on the portion that was still closed so she leaned her head out of where it was open to see Yusuke standing below her window.

"Yusuke?" she asked, completely forgetting her turmoil.

"Hey," he smiled up at her. "Did everything go okay?"

"Huh?" she muttered before remembering the reason she gave for leaving. "Oh, yeah, I'm all set, turns out my paranoia is for nothing."

Yusuke chuckled at her.

"Well, it wouldn't be you if it wasn't," he said, voiced with endearment.

Her hand unconsciously clenched on the window sill at the caring and affection in his voice.

"Did you guys have a good time?" Keiko asked them.

"Naturally," Yusuke said. "They may be jerks sometimes but they are great pals to hang around. Kurama told me to tell you that his mother and her husband invited us to their anniversary party thing next month."

Keiko brightened at that, she had met Kurama's mother. Shiori had no idea about what Kurama really was but it didn't really matter anymore seeing as how there weren't demon attacks. She had met her a few years back and Shiori had come to adore all of Kurama's friends.

"Sounds like a good time," Keiko replied. "Tell Kurama, I'll be there."

"Alright," Yusuke said. "Hey, you wanna go catch a movie or something? We really didn't get to hang out much today."

Keiko's expression lost its' brightness and she turned her head towards the horizon where the sun had just disappeared.

Yusuke raised his eyebrow at her action, something in the back of his mind tingled at the same time and he frowned in slight worry.

"Keiko?" he called, pulling her from her daze.

"What? Oh, sorry, Yusuke," Keiko apologized, but still only looked to the pavement. "You know, I'm feeling pretty tired, so how about we go another night?"

Yusuke's eyes narrowed slightly, not in anger or irritation, but in concern.

"Sure," he replied. "Hey, are you okay? You seem kinda…weird lately."

"Gee, Yusuke," she said sarcastically. "You sure know how to charm them."

Yusuke flushed at her tease before scratching the back of his head.

"But I'm okay, thanks, just a little wore out." Keiko said, turning her attention back to the horizon as a small bluster of wind came through.

Yusuke watched as she lifted a hand to brush her hair from her face and smiled.

"I'll see you later," he told her before turning and walking away.

As he walked away, Yusuke's smile gradually fell with every step he took. Eventually he frowned and his face became troubled. He felt it for a second at Genkai's place and again just then. But…what really drove this unease home…

She hadn't said a word as he left.

* * *

Keiko shut her window and went back to her bed. She sat back down and picked the picture back up. She gasped lightly when she had realized she set it down hard enough to crack the glass. It wasn't a large fracture, only maybe an inch long. Later on she could look back and think of it as symbolic, given the fracture cut straight through both her and Yusuke in a diagonal line.

* * *

Yusuke's surprisingly perceptive observation ended up being proven correct. Following that day, the whole group seemed to notice a change.

It was small at first, but they noticed that after that day, Keiko would act just like she normally would with her friends, but when it came to Yusuke… She would act normal with him with a few inconsistencies. If he were to drape his arm around her, she would brush it off, not unkindly, but she would either take it off or walk away. Other than that, for about a week she would do everything else normally. After a week of this, she would start to make excuses when Yusuke would invite her somewhere.

Yusuke would brush each instance off, much to the irritation of everyone else in their group. A month had passed since the gathering and the next thing on their agenda was Shiori's anniversary. Yusuke and Kuwabara were treated with enthused hugs from the women, embarrassing them significantly while Kurama's stepfather looked on amused and Kurama acted the role of dutiful son perfectly.

Shiori's husband was a very well-mannered person; he didn't bat an eye at Yusuke's 'punk' air or any of their antics. None of them could expect anything less of someone who both Shiori and Shuichi liked.

Everyone had arrived except for one of them. Yusuke kept glancing at the clock and the door, as if Keiko would show up when he did.

Kurama raised a brow at him then at the clock while Kuwabara conversed with Shiori about school and Yukina was talking with Kurama's step-brother. Hiei sat next to Kurama, still in his black cloak, but Shiori and her husband were used to him so no one said anything.

"She is taking her time," Kurama said to Yusuke, startling him out of his staring contest with the clock.

"Yeah, she is," Yusuke agreed.

"Are you worried?" Kurama asked him.

Yusuke simply looked over at him and shook his head.

"No," he sighed. "Honestly, I kinda expected something like this would happen."

"Oh," Kurama feigned surprise. "And why is that?"

Yusuke mildly glared at him, not at all fooled by the farce.

"You know da—" he paused and looked over to make sure Shiori couldn't hear him, he respected her you know, that and he didn't care for being swatted in the head for his language despite being an adult. "You know why."

Hiei rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, I don't know why you just don't take her to bed," Hiei said to them, referring to Yusuke with regards to Keiko. "It always works when Demon women are in their 'moods'."

"Hiei, that's vulgar," Kurama scolded as Yusuke glared at him.

"Keiko's not that kind of girl," Yusuke said, glaring at the fire demon.

"The reaper would beg to differ," Hiei deadpanned.

"What the— how do you even know this stuff?" Yusuke replied.

"I listen, Detective, that woman doesn't stop her shrieking, especially when it comes to what you humans call, 'gossip'. Apparently your woman keeps a journal and in it are some interesting fantasies."

Yusuke's cheeks adopted a dusting of pink while Kurama shook his head, normally he'd be amused by a turn of events like this, but with his mother in the room, it's best he err on the side of caution.

"All jokes and banter aside, have you talked to her?" Kurama asked in an attempt to maneuver into less risqué territory.

Yusuke opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by an arrival.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Mrs. Minamino," Keiko said, as she had walked into the room. "I had to rewrap your gift because it caught on something on my way out."

Yusuke smiled at her late arrival and he watched as she gifted Shiori with a small box wrapped in blue wrapping paper.

"Why thank you, Keiko," Shiori smiled at her. "We were just about to have dinner, so you're just in time."

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, and Yukina all stood, as well as Shuuichi and Shiori's husband in order to go into the other room. Yusuke went to throw his arm around her shoulder when his heart stopped.

"Actually," Keiko began as Yusuke walked for her. "I can't stay."

"Oh," Shiori frowned and then frowned deeper when she saw Yusuke's face turn shocked as he stared at the back of her head. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Keiko replied, seemingly unaware of Yusuke behind her. "My mom fell and hurt her leg today, my dad needs me to help them today."

"How awful," Shiori commented. "Well I understand and I hope she gets back on her feet soon."

"Thank you, Shiori," Keiko said before turning to the group. "I'll see you guys later, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, Yukina, sorry guys."

"It's alright Keiko," Yukina replied, also frowning.

Keiko nodded and then wheeled around, maneuvered around Yusuke's frozen arm, and out the door. As the door shut, Yusuke's arm lowered, his mouth pressed into a thin line and he looked away from the others.

"Man, Urameshi," Kuwabara whispered.

"Well," Kurama interrupted. "How about that dinner, mother?"

"Oh, yes," Shiori replied. "Come on everyone. Maybe one of you can tell me where the nickname 'Kurama' came from, I really like it."

One by one they filed into the other room, Kuwabara gave him a sympathetic look as he walked by. Hiei merely cast a glance at him, and Yukina frowned sadly as she passed.

"You come when you're ready Yusuke," Kurama told him before he too left.

Yusuke didn't know how long he stood there, but he eventually was able to bury the hurt long enough to put on a brave face.

* * *

"She did what?" Shizuru shouted in surprise when she got home that night. "Explain Kazuma!"

Shizuru was shocked when she got home from work and she found Kazuma waiting, she thought he was going to hang out with Yusuke for the night. She listened as Kuwabara explained everything that happened at Kurama's mothers' anniversary.

"I really feel for him, sis," Kuwabara said looking down. "Keiko acted like he wasn't even there; I don't think I've ever seen him that crushed."

"Ok," Shizuru said as she lit her cigarette. "I don't know about you but I'm getting tired of this."

"Huh?" Kuwabara grunted as he looked up at her.

"For the past month, Yusuke and Keiko have been on egg shells around each other," She explained. "Surely you've noticed."

"Well, yeah," Kuwabara confirmed. "But I just thought they'd work it out on their own."

"They obviously haven't Kazuma," Shizuru deadpanned. "Yusuke knows something is up, but is too stupid to do anything about it…or at least can't figure out how to go about it. Keiko is resentful toward him and she probably can't figure out why and instead of talking to him about it, she's pushing him away and denying that anything's wrong."

She quickly snubbed the rest of her cigarette in her ashtray before pinning her brother with a glare.

"If nothing's done, they won't last and it'll make our lives miserable."

"So…" Kuwabara drew out. "What do we do?"

"Well, I'm gonna get a hold of Botan and I want you to get Kurama and Hiei if you can, especially Hiei."

"Wait," Kuwabara blinked. "Shrimpy? Why him?"

"Yusuke has always been an idiot when it comes to emotional stuff," Shizuru elaborated as she reached for her cell phone. "So, we're going to repeat history. Just not as extreme."

At Kuwabara's confused look, she sighed.

"Come on, Kazuma," she moaned. "How has he faced emotional walls in the past."

After a moment of Kuwabara humming with his chin in his hand while Shizuru resisted the temptation to hit him, he brightened with realization.

"Of course!" he realized. "Great idea, sis! But…this isn't your style… I mean you don't like getting in people's business so…why?"

Shizuru looked over at the stand where she sat her lighter and her eyes became wistful.

"Because I'm envious of them," she whispered and gave no clarification.

* * *

Yusuke shouted as he made impact with a wall. Spars at Genkai's place were no picnic, and they weren't gonna get any easier later on when Genkai would yell at them all about her damaged property.

"Come on, detective," Hiei called from where he stood, being the one who sent him into the wall. "You should have been able to at least deflect that blow."

"Hiei," Kurama addressed from where he sat with Kuwabara, observing this little spar. "Don't you think maybe you should avoid damaging Master Genkai's property?"

Yusuke finally pushed himself out of the wreckage, the only damage being to his pride and his shirt.

"Yeah, Hiei," Yusuke agreed as he stepped out. "I don't want to hear the old hag bitching at us today."

Hiei scoffed at Yusuke before throwing his cloak off and depositing his sword on the ground.

"We wouldn't have to worry about it if you would dodge like you should be able to," Hiei mocked.

Yusuke glared before he ran at him.

* * *

To say Keiko was confused was an understatement. She had woken up that day and was about to start work in the restaurant when Botan kind of burst into her room, cheerful as always, and told Keiko to dress to go shopping. Despite vehement denials, Botan finally managed to convince her to go.

"Koenma was nice enough to give me a day off and who knows when that'll happen again," she had said, laying it on thick.

How could Keiko say no? And it had been a long time since Botan was able to see them.

However her confusion mounted when, instead of the mall or some clothing store, they wound up outside Kuwabara's house.

"Why are we here, Botan?" Keiko asked through bored eyes as Botan walked inside.

"For Shizuru, of course!" Botan exclaimed with an over-exaggerated cheer, going into the living room and refusing to look at her.

"Shizuru?" Keiko asked skeptically, eyes lidding as she heaved a sigh. "Ok, what's going on, she hates shopping as much as I hate skirts."

"Seriously, Botan, that's what you told her?" Shizuru cut off with a mild glare as she strode into the room and locked the door behind her.

"Well…" Botan replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't come up with anything else."

"Uh," Keiko interrupted with her arms crossed. "What's going on?"

Shizuru took a cigarette from the pack in her shirt and lit it as she sat down. She stared up at Keiko as she blew a puff of smoke from her lips.

"Intervention," she explained.

Keiko's eyebrow rose and her mouth opened slightly, she had not been expecting that.

"Inter…vention?" Keiko asked slowly before she looked over at Botan. "Who are we giving an intervention?"

"Uh, well, you see," Botan stutters as she looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"You, kid," Shizuru finished, casting an irritated look at Botan.

"Me?" Keiko asked with a roll of her eyes. "What do I need an intervention for? I'm not on drugs and I'm not an alcoholic."

"I'll ignore your snarky comeback for now," Shizuru replied as she rubbed her cigarette out. "Interventions aren't only about addiction, Keiko."

Keiko sat down across from her as Botan switched her gaze back and forth.

"Well we know I'm not an addict," Keiko droned as she crossed her arms. "Then what in my life do I need my friends to interfere with?"

Shizuru crossed one leg over the other and let her forearms rest on the arms of her chair.

"Yusuke," she clipped.

"What about him?" Keiko asked as if inconvenienced.

"How about the fact that you two are on the fast track toward losing eachother," Shizuru calmly replied.

"What?" Keiko asked seemingly genuinely confused. "Yusuke and I are fine."

"Oh really," Shizuru replied. "And what would he say if I were to ask him."

"He'd say the same thing."

"Probably," Shizuru conceded. "That idiot doesn't know how to be open emotionally with anyone else but you."

Keiko looked away at that.

"But he can't anymore…because to you…he doesn't exist."

Keiko's eyes widened before they narrowed dangerously.

"Why would you say something so hurtful?" Keiko seethed, gripping the arms of the couch. "Why are you doing this anyway? Don't you have your own love life to get to, oh, I guess not."

"Keiko!" Botan gasped.

Keiko snapped her head to Botan and then she froze. Her eyes widened as she just realized what she did.

"Oh, Shizuru," Keiko whispered, rounding back to the woman. "I—I'm sorry…I didn't mean what I said."

"Yes, yes you did," Shizuru said, but with a straight face, the only reaction to the outburst had been a wince as it happened. "But if you were in your right mind, you wouldn't have said anything."

"I don't know what you're—" Keiko tried to deny.

"But you do," Shizuru interrupted. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, just like you know that you've been feeling resentment for the past few months."

"Resentment?" Keiko asked. "Why would I need to resent anything?"

Shizuru reached for another cigarette as it appeared she would need it if she planned to have Keiko break before she did.

"You know what I mean," she replied, offering nothing else.

Keiko opened her mouth to deny again, but found she couldn't. Botan looked on sadly as Keiko gripped the arms of the couch again.

* * *

"Wow, Urameshi, you suck," Kuwabara mocked as Hiei slugged the former spirit detective again and sent him rolling on the ground.

Hiei scoffed down at Yusuke as he wiped a bit of blood off of his cheek. He and Yusuke had been going at it, and both were showing signs of damage. However, instead of what should be, Hiei had been in control for the majority of the fight and had outdone Yusuke two to one in number of hits landed.

"This is getting boring," Hiei said as Yusuke stood back up. "I don't know what your problem is, Yusuke, but I should be getting more of a fight than this."

Kurama remained silent and while Kuwabara had been mocking him earlier, despite the mocking his eyes held the same concentration Kurama's had. If Hiei was aware of what they were up to, he wasn't showing it, and luckily, their plan seemed to have started flowing along.

Yusuke wiped his chin and took a breath, calming himself as he stood. Then he crouched and sprang at Hiei, who dodged to the side with closed eyes.

"Predictable detective—" Hiei insulted before he opened his eyes and gasped as Yusuke nailed him in the face with his foot.

"Nice," Kurama complimented as Hiei flew back. "Let's see how long the momentum keeps."

Hiei did a backflip in the air only for Yusuke to appear behind him and punch him in the side of the head. Using his hand, and the momentum from the hit, Hiei swung right back around and kicked Yusuke right in the cheek before standing upright and punching the stunned man into the wall once again, creating another hole.

Hiei gasped to catch his breath but remained where he was, waiting for Yusuke to come out again.

Kurama and Kuwabara watched as Yusuke had not come back out after a minute.

"Uh, Urameshi?" Kuwabara hesitantly called, getting up and walking over to the hole. "Are you dead?"

"Kuwabara," Kurama breathed, shaking his head.

"Of course he's not you idiot," Hiei snapped. "The fool can take much more than that but this ridiculous block is keeping him limited."

"Relax, Hiei," Kurama whispered, coming to stand next to him as Kuwabara peered into the hole.

Kuwabara peered into the room that Yusuke crashed into and simply stared.

Lying spread eagle on the floor, Yusuke was just staring at the ceiling. Eyes narrowed in thought, but the rest of his body completely relaxed. If it weren't for his damaged clothing and marks on his face, no one would guess that he had just been in a fight.

Yusuke seemed to have blocked the others out; he didn't even react when Kuwabara tapped his side with his foot.

"Urameshi?" Kuwabara called again.

Kuwabara jumped when Yusuke sat up. Yusuke glanced at Kuwabara before looking outside to see Kurama and Hiei watching him. His eyes narrowed and he made a noise of irritation.

"What the hell is going on?" Yusuke asked them. "Block? What are you talking about Hiei?"

Hiei scoffed at him but offered nothing.

"Yusuke," Kurama, ever the peacekeeper, began. "We just feel that you and—"

"That me and Keiko have problems, I know," Yusuke interrupted, much to the shock of the others. "So you thought you'd try to beat some sense into me."

Kuwabara gaped as Kurama and Hiei just blinked in shock.

"I'm not as stupid as I was back then," he continued, referring to the dark tournament and when Kuwabara's death had to be faked. "I know there are problems. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes," the other three answered simultaneously causing Yusuke to sputter.

"Then you realize that you are being stunted because you won't let yourself feel," Kurama surmised.

"Yeah…" he replied.

"Then why haven't you done anything?" Kurama asked.

Yusuke flopped back onto the ground and let out a sigh. Kurama and Hiei walked into the room and Hiei sat against the wall and crossed his arms behind his head before he closed his eyes.

They were all blindsided with how he answered their question.

"I haven't done anything because…because she doesn't know why things are the way they are and until she does…there's nothing I can do."

* * *

No one was aware of how much time had passed. Shizuru held her unwavering gaze as Botan looked on from the background. The longer they waited, the tighter Keiko's fists clenched over the material of her chair.

"What is this even about?" Keiko finally asked. "Why are you of all people interfering?"

"Oh, so you admit that there is something to interfere in?" Shizuru asked.

Keiko glared at her, loosening her hold on the chair.

"That doesn't answer my question," she dodged.

"You need to face it, Keiko, get passed it," Shizuru continued. "You and Yusuke have something that I've only dreamt of and I'll be damned if I let you throw it away. If that means that I have to get a little bit out of character for myself then so be it if I'm helping my friends."

Keiko's eyes widened gradually as Shizuru continued her explanation. Shizuru was never one to interfere with anything and was all for playing things out.

Botan only stared sadly at Shizuru before her gaze flickered to the lighter that was sitting on her stand.

Shizuru reached for said lighter and pulled out another cigarette, however; when she went to light it, no flame would start. She flicked it again and again but would only spark.

"Damn thing must be out," she cursed before reaching to the stand and pulling the drawer on it open before withdrawing a box of matches.

"I don't know what to do," Keiko whispered, causing Shizuru to pause just before she lit her cigarette. "I mean, things have been great, and then just…not…I don't get it. What happened?"

With a wave of her arm, the flaming match was extinguished and she put the rest of it in the ash tray before stuffing the cigarette back into its' box.

"You know what happened," Botan thrust in, surprising the other two.

Keiko looked up at her before looking back to the floor.

"No, I…I don't…I don't get it," Keiko whispered, voice gaining strength the more she added. "Things were good again…he came back. That day on the shore, he came back. I was so happy… And I was for a while, but then…something changed…I don't know what."

As she spoke her eyes began to shine and moisture began to pool in them.

"That night we were supposed to hang out at Genkai's…Something in my just snapped… and I was reminded of that time…how hurt I was…I don't want to feel that again…"

She brought an arm up to wipe her eyes before the tears could fall.

"This has gone on longer than since that day," Shizuru interrupted, making Keiko look at her questioningly.

"What are you talking about?" Keiko asked.

"This stuff that's going on in your head," Shizuru began in explanation. "It's been going on a lot longer than a few months ago. You got better for a long time but it was still there, something you can't just forget about and bury, but you tried anyway, and now it's biting you in the ass with this thing with Yusuke, even in how you come off sometimes. It's like you're locking a part of your mind away because you don't want to dredge up what's going on."

Keiko listened and she tried to interject, but found once more that she couldn't bring words to form.

"You think that if you don't acknowledge it then it will just go away and you can move on. There's nothing wrong with you for feeling that, a lot of people do, but the thing you didn't take into consideration was the future and the fact that you don't know what lies ahead."

Botan looked on confused at Shizuru's last statement. When the woman offered nothing else, and Keiko only looked down at her legs, Botan was going to open her mouth but stopped when Keiko slowly got to her feet.

"Keiko?" she called.

The brunette did nothing to indicate she had heard the reaper. Shizuru stared at her and she slowly started to walk around the chair she had sat in and made her way to the exit. Botan moved to intercept her, thinking that she was helping her.

"Botan!" Shizuru addressed, making the blue haired gossip halt.

She looked over only for Shizuru to shake her head at her. Then she switched back to Keiko.

The door was ajar and Keiko was out of sight.

* * *

The three members of Yusuke's former team stared at him in shock, even Hiei.

"I'm sorry," Kuwabara said, putting a finger in his own ear and twisting it like an earwig. "I must have heard wrong… Urameshi didn't actually say something smart did he?"

Yusuke's eye couldn't help but twitch.

"Yes he did, Kuwabara," Kurama answered. "Are you alright, Yusuke?"

"What the hell guys!" Yusuke screeched at them. "Why are you so shocked? If Kuwabara can manage to get into some fancy university after years of being a total idiot, then why is it so surprising that I might change some too?"

"Hey!" Kuwabara complained.

"I apologize Yusuke," Kurama placated in order to keep them on track. "It's just that dealing with emotional issues was never your strong point."

"It still isn't," Yusuke deadpanned. "I don't want to deal with all that feelings bull but it's one of those things you can't avoid, you know?"

"That hasn't stopped you from trying," Kuwabara muttered.

"Hey, why are we here anyway?" Yusuke asked, getting back to his first question.

Kurama and Hiei looked over at Kuwabara who started to sweat.

"Oh alright!" he shouted. "I told my sis about what happened at Kurama's mom's thing and she told me to get Kurama and Hiei and fight you."

"Your sister?" Yusuke blinked owlishly.

"I know!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "I told her it wasn't like her then she got all weird, like she was sad."

"Huh," Yusuke hummed. "Who knew?"

"I believe Shizuru chose to act on her frustrations because she doesn't want you to have the same troubles she has," Kurama patiently explained.

"What?" Yusuke asked.

"What problems?" Kuwabara added.

"Never mind," Kurama replied with a sweat drop.

"So wait, run this by me again," Kuwabara requested. "You know there is something wrong. So why don't you say something?"

Yusuke rolled his eyes as Hiei smirked.

"Remember Yusuke," Hiei advised. "Speak slowly or else the buffoon won't understand you."

"Shut up, runt!" Kuwabara shouted.

"I don't know what exactly is up," Yusuke elaborated. "She has something up with her and won't talk to me about it, so until she does, there's nothing I can do. And yes, Kurama, I'm sure you know what is wrong but you won't tell me, and I don't want you to."

Kurama blinked at him once before smiling.

"You've grown up, Yusuke," Kurama complimented. "Not much, but you have."

"Smartass," Yusuke muttered before sitting up. "So is Shizuru talking to Keiko?"

"Huh, oh yeah, I think so," Kuwabara replied.

Yusuke dusted himself off before he stepped outside the hole and outside the room.

"Then maybe this can finally be over," Yusuke whispered to himself before he started for the shrine stairs. "I'll catch you guys later."

The three watched him as he left and as soon as he left their sight, the sliding door opened and there stood Genkai. She looked around at the wreckage and glared at Kuwabara.

"You idiots," she stated before literally kicking him through the hole in the wall.

When Kuwabara reoriented himself, he looked up to see the both Kurama and Hiei had long since vanished.

* * *

"Do you think it worked?" Botan asked Shizuru as the woman fingered the lighter in her hand.

"Who knows," She replied before standing up. "Tomorrow's a new day."

Botan followed her into the kitchen and watched as she strode over to the trashcan.

"Yusuke and Keiko will make it," Shizuru told her. "I'm sure of it."

"Shizuru," Botan said sadly. "You'll find your own soul mate one day, you know."

"You think so?" She asked with no inflexion of her voice. "Who knows…but…maybe it is time to look forward."

And with that sentiment, Shizuru loosened her hold on the lighter that she had kept for years and watched as it clattered uselessly into the trash.

* * *

Keiko had stopped paying attention to the time. She had left Shizuru's in a daze and just walked. Before she knew it, the sun had started to drop and the sky was bathed in the colorful glow of twilight.

Whether she was aware of it or not, she didn't even know, she ended up in a park near her house, more specifically a playground. She watched as a mother pushed her son on a swing and a ways from them, two little girls slid down the little slide, laughing merrily as a man who had to be their father watched on with a smile.

Deeming that she had had enough walking, she sat down on an empty bench and just stared at the sky.

_Is it fate that brought me here? _She asked herself as she looked around the playground, the playground where she and Yusuke became friends all those years ago.

She smiled as she remembered it. Yusuke was a bit of a bully even back then, but then made the mistake of messing with her one day. It earned him a lump on the head but after he seemed to like that she wasn't just another wimp. The rest was history leading to where they were now.

_But where is that?_ She questioned. _This ridiculous cold war on my part? The fact that he…_

Not able to bear finishing the thought, her eyes narrowed as the familiar bubbling of rage started to simmer in her abdomen.

_We can't do this, I can't be so…angry. Although I have more than enough reason...nothing will be fixed if I let it go on._

She took in a breath, reluctantly relaxing herself as the solution finally dawned on her. So lost in thought she was that she didn't pay any attention to the children leaving with their parents. She looked back up to the dark sky, stars not visible because of both how early it was, and the surrounding lights from the city.

She knew what needed to be done, but that certain part of her mind worried at her resolve, could she do it? Would it fix anything? Would it tear her apart? Would it tear 'them' apart?

None of these thoughts ended up being relevant as the choice was taken out of her hands.

Her face remained unchanged when she lowered her gaze and stared straight at Yusuke, who had just appeared along the pathway and jumped slightly when he caught sight of her.

She noted that he was disheveled, his hair was a mess, and his shirt was torn in some places.

_Fighting again,_ she observed as she stood up.

Yusuke had stopped walking and straightened when she stood, his gaze, though solid, had an underlying nervousness that was to be expected. Half of him expected her to run away, or pretend he wasn't there, as she had these past weeks…months.

Despite his preconceptions, Keiko kept her eyes on him and they stared….and stared…and stared, as if neither knew what to do.

Finally the stalemate was broken as Keiko lifted one foot and placed it in front of the other. Step by step by step she approached Yusuke, who grew ever more nervous as each second slipped by and every 'clop' her shoes made on the stone path.

The wind gusted, rattling the trees and the sound of their shaking echoed through the conveniently deserted area.

Keiko finally came to a stop within touching distance of Yusuke. Her expression hadn't change but he became fidgety as time wore on.

"What happened to you?" she finally asked, face stone and voice even.

Yusuke jolted slightly and blinked at her.

"Uh…Hiei thought it would be fun to kick me through a wall," he replied, uneasy.

Keiko raised her eyebrow in a 'really?' way.

"Yeah, that sounds like him," she said. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

"Pssh, no," Yusuke scoffed, relaxing slightly.

"Good," Keiko nodded and Yusuke went to smile at her, but the sound of flesh hitting flesh bit into the silence of the night.

To say Yusuke was stunned was an understatement as he looked wide eyed at Keiko who had just planted her fist in his cheek. Sure she had slapped him before when he was being a pervert or irritating but she had never full out punched him before. It didn't hurt but when he looked into her eyes as she huffed he saw the wild intensity of what had been bubbling to the surface and it was about to blow. Realizing what was happening he shut his mouth and then schooled his face into a neutral look.

Keiko's glare never wavered but her fist, which was now very pained, did uncurl and fall to her side. When she felt she had caught her breath she lunged with both hands and latched onto his torn shirt. Without breaking eye contact she backed him up against a tree. The whole time he let her and his face never faltered and neither did the expecting look in his eyes. It was lucky that no one was around to witness the goings on, but it was better that way.

Keiko was to make the first statement and Yusuke waited, not knowing what to expect.

"Do I mean anything to you?" she asked finally, face the same even if the voice was a little shaky at the end.

Yusuke went wide eyed and his breath caught in his throat, he was unprepared so he said the first thing he could.

"Why would you even ask me that?" Yusuke asked her, pained. "Of course you do. You're one of the most important people to me. I lo—"

"Don't," she interrupted his answer. "Don't finish that."

Yusuke faltered but didn't move. Keiko's hands never left his shirt.

"You said I was one of the most important people to you," she reiterated. "I find that hard to believe sometimes."

Yusuke adopted a shocked expression once again.

"Sometimes I don't think anyone is important to you, sometimes…I think that all you care about is fighting."

Yusuke made to respond but Keiko wouldn't give him an inch.

"But the thing is, that isn't true, and I know that, but back then…for a while…I did feel that. And I do think you care, even if you're an ass."

Yusuke didn't react to the name but kept listening.

"But you left….easily…for three years," she said, her voice getting more tired. "I was pissed. But you know that, you had to pull that damn marriage line with my dad."

Yusuke couldn't keep his mouth from turning upward and neither could she.

"So…I had forgiven that because I know about that thing that you said possessed you during your fight with that Sensui guy."

Now Yusuke moved from warmed to confused.

"I don't get it," he finally managed to say, making his first contribution since the conversation made this turn. "If you're not mad about me leaving, then why are you being so cold to me?"

Keiko's smile vanished and she looked down, putting her head close to Yusuke's chest but not enough to touch. Her hands still very much locked in his shirt.

"Do you remember, a couple months ago, we went to Genkai's and met up with our friends?"

Yusuke nodded but she didn't see it.

"None of this mattered then, I let myself be in denial about the fact you left. Did I ever tell you how hard it was for me after you left?"

Yusuke frowned and his eyes dulled slightly as she looked into her hair. She pulled herself up to look at him and he saw her eyes starting to shine.

"I took a long time for me to get back to normal because even if you had good reason, I couldn't be okay that you were gone. All through my life friends have come and gone. You were my only constant."

Yusuke lifted a hand and used his thumb to wipe away the tears that began to fall from her eyes.

"You were gone. I went on every day, waiting for you, I gave up opportunities with other guys because deep down I've always felt that I only wanted to be with you. But eventually everyone reaches the end of their rope…mine just so happened to be the day you came back. It was like something out of one of those fairy tales I read when I was a little girl."

_I don't want you to wait either._

_ See, you don't have to._

The tears kept falling and Yusuke went to wipe them again as he remembered the day se referred to, but before he could reach her face, she pushed herself away from him, but only enough so that one hand over his non beating heart was keeping him pinned to the tree.

"But that night at Genkai's you made something clear to me, even if you didn't know you did."

She watched as Yusuke pursed his lips and thought, when he couldn't find an answer she spoke again.

"Kuwabara said that there was another demon king tournament next year, you said you'd compete again."

Yusuke resumed staring at her, his eyes urging her to continue.

"I won't expect you to get it because you don't know emotional problems that well, but that's a part of you that I accepted. But when you said you'd go back I thought to myself, 'He's going to leave again,' and 'Will he come back this time?'"

Yusuke's realization dawned as the entire issue became clear to him. He finally understood what the block had been between Keiko and him.

"I don't want to be your rest stop between adventures; I won't be that woman pining in the window for you as I look out to the horizon. I won't live everyday wondering, 'Is Yusuke coming back?' or 'Is he okay?' or anything like that. I want a constant, I want someone who is going to always be there for me and not just take off for weeks or months or years at a time, I deserve better than that and I won't stand for anything less. Certainly not for a relationship made from scraps. So if you want to gallivant off to demon world, don't expect me to wait for you again when I don't have any guarantee."

Yusuke's face had become more determined the more she spoke and he watched as she finished her monologue and wiped her eyes. She looked up at him, eyes red as she awaited his response.

"Do you remember when I fought Toguro and there was a point early in the fight where he and I just talked?"

Keiko blinked but then nodded.

"Yeah, your back was to us."

"Well, he noticed that I had stayed in that spot because you were behind me, not them you."

She continued to listen with rapt attention.

"He and Genkai had a thing when they were young, but they never worked out because Toguro ran from his emotional responsibilities, he chose to become a demon to preserve his strength so he wouldn't grow old and frail, he wasn't ready to grow up. But when we were talking, he pointed out how alike we were and I told him that I intended to grow old, with you."

Keiko couldn't help it, she smiled at the sentiment and her tears began again.

"And I know I hurt you, bad, and I'm sorry Keiko," he told her as he stepped toward her. "But listen, you don't have to worry about demon world."

"How do you know that?" Keiko asked him as he got closer. "Whether I like it or not, fighting is a part of who you are."

"That's true," Yusuke conceded as he stopped right in front of her. "But let me ask you something. Do you remember when I was spirit detective and I would always be at the old hags training or training with the guys?"

At Keiko's nod he continued.

"The fight with Hiei today, was the first bit of training of any kind I've had since I've come back."

Keiko's eyes widened at his admission.

"The whole reason I came back, is because of you. The guys and my mom had a part too, but you…I could never leave you like that."

If this were a less serious situation, Keiko might have laughed at the sentimental mush coming from Yusuke's mouth.

"I haven't been keeping up," Yusuke admitted. "There are plenty of demons still stronger than me and as long as the demon that seizes control isn't one of those assholes that wants to come after the humans, well then, I don't have a reason to go on adventures anymore."

He smiled a content smile at Keiko as he reached for her.

"It's time that you get what you want, and it's time that I face my life like a man and own my responsibilities."

Keiko let out a choked laugh as Yusuke grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to him. One of her hands went over his heart and the other wound around his back as he caged her in his arms and buried his face into her neck.

"I love you, Keiko," he whispered in her ear, making warmth explode in her gut that seemed to permeate to the rest of her body.

She took the hand on his chest and reached for the back of his neck. He lifted his head slightly as her fingers brushed through the hair at the base of his neck. She turned her head towards his and one of his hands came up and cupped the side of her neck.

When their lips met it was euphoric, a weight had been thrown from them and they slowly pulled each other so close that their bodies were flush against one another. They parted for only a second before Yusuke's slips slid back onto hers. He exhaled from his nose and the air tickled her cheek and she responded by clutching the cloth on his back and pulling on him so hard her arm started to feel sore.

Eventually their need for air overpowered their desire to be close again and they separated. They looked into each other's eyes once more and Yusuke tilted his head down so their foreheads touched. Keiko smiled one of her small smiles, her normal mannerisms returning.

"You know, Yusuke, you better hope Kuwabara never finds out how much of a sap you are," she told him.

"I don't care, I'll kick his ass," he replied.

After this, laughter bubbled up in both of them and they did nothing to hold it back. They pulled from their embrace as they struggled to keep from laughing.

Eventually they did stop and when they did they locked hands and started to walk together.

"So, what now?" she asked him.

"Well," Yusuke replied. "We have all night, but…I want to go and get changed first, I don't want people to think I'm homeless."

Keiko giggled as she took a finger and slid it into one of the holes in his shirt and stroked the skin on his pec.

Yusuke waggled his eyebrows suggestively and she just huffed at him before letting go of his hand and walking ahead of him.

Yusuke only laughed and ran up to her before tightly clasping her hand again. Keiko didn't fight him and he slid his other hand in his pocket as they walked together toward his home.

* * *

**So...that was weeks of work. It took so damn long because I couldn't get more than a couple hundred words done at a time. I wanted to die. Now...what did you think? Please leave a review and I would like some feedback on dialogue, plot, etc**.

**Was it good?**

**Should I have not bothered?**

**Should I give up on writing one shots?**

**Whatever your opinion, please leave it. and until next time.**

**~Shaded Truths~**


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